Dan Connor

[PantherBrew]

Reminds me of Chris Draft.

[Guild]

I hope Connor shows some good caliber play in the remaining two preseason games. He is going to have to shed or avoid many blocks without a good run stuffer in front of him.

[Cyberjag]

Reminds me of Chris Draft.

I don't see that either, I don't think Draft is as talented as Connor.

That said, I sure hope Connor can become the kind of citizen Draft was (and is).

[Woodie]

We can talk about speed, athleticism, hip flexibility, or whatever, but the biggest thing is he has amazing instincts. That is what gives him a chance to be special, IMO.

[hepcat]

Dan Connor's talent is so badly being wasted on ST's when he should be a full time starter. Why John Fox is so stubborn and stays so loyal to his has been players is such a head scratcher especially when you have a beast like Dan Connor sitting on the bench.

Um...season hasn't started yet, Beason might have a screwed up knee, and Connor was on IR most of the year last year. I think we should keep our starters at LB set and spell them with Connor and Anderson. Nice to know we've got depth at ONE area.

[Brandon]

I hope Connor shows some good caliber play in the remaining two preseason games. He is going to have to shed or avoid many blocks without a good run stuffer in front of him.

One thing I noticed about Connor was his ability to shed blockers, for that I'm not so worried. He'd really be the best fit at Sam going into the season if Fox would give him a chance there.

[Vagrant]

Reading that I can see where some people would seize on the "not fluid through the hips" comment and characterize his entire physical make-up through that lens, but when they're doing that how do they miss the statements on his athleticism? Also, the measureables at the combine should have put to rest the concerns about fluidity.

One thing I've seen elsewhere but not in what you posted is concerns about his leg strength. I don't worry about any of those types though, not at his position. Like Beason and so many others, he will only get stronger in the next few years.

This guy will be a star for us someday, and when combined with Davis and Beason he'll elevate our unit to one of the league's best. And for what it's worth (before people start harping on his supposed inability to play outside), he played outside at Penn State until he was a senior.

It wasn't only that source that said it. As i've said, they had a panel full of experts at the draft showing the illustration where the linebacker has to back up and then adjust to the ball coming out of the shoot and Connor nearly tripped over his own feet on every rep. They zoned in on his hips and pretty much said everything short of "this should be film on how to fall in the draft as a MLB", because that's what happened.

I'm not going to scour the internet for information on Dan Connor to back that up. If you want to do so then that's on you, but my point is that from what I have read and seen already I know this to be true. If it wasn't then he never would have made it as far down the draft as he did. Bottom line.

[Cyberjag]

So you saw a panel somewhere dedicate a segment to Connor showing a few selected clips that suggested he had poor agility and decide that a little film and a draft blurb are more persuasive than all the numbers he put up in the system he was in, and the actual measureables he turned in when it counted?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I bet I can spend five minutes in YouTube and grab enough clips to persuade someone that Tom Brady is a hopeless wanna-be in a poor offensive system. Just don't look at his titles or anything like that, ok?

And don't put it on me to prove your point, you have none. Feel free to think he's a slow and unathletic MLB who lucked into a roster spot. You can hang out with the people who think Pete Prisco is a football GOD and wonder how we manage to win games with such lousy players.

You're seriously very, very, very wrong about this kid. And I hope you're enough of a fan to be happy about that.

[Vagrant]

You're obviously not being very smart here. I'll leave it at that. I have said SEVERAL times that he makes up for what he lacks in agility and hip swivel with smarts and anticipating the play but you choose to ignore that and act like i'm wholesale dismissing the guy. Not true at all. He could start at linebacker right now for us, but he would still be pretty weak in coverage and his athleticism is below average. That is the original point I was responding to. Somebody had the notion to claim he was in the same realm as Dan Morgan from a pure athleticism standpoint and it's simply not true. I shouldn't have to dig up links to anything to prove that, it should be apparent to the naked eye. It should be self-evident that he's not a pure athlete out there, but rather a smart linebacker.

[Cyberjag]

I'm the one supplying statistics and relaying information on what Connor actually DID, while you're talking about your personal recollection of a panel who was trying to come up with a reason why he slid down the charts, and you think you're the smart one? Hell with being smart, I'm just showing evidence--you're the one presenting an opinion here (which is wrong).

I love what you just said so much I want to repeat it again.

his athleticism is below average.

After all you have seen in the preseason, and after all his accolades have been supplied, and after his numbers have been posted, and after someone else has supplied a DIFFERENT panel of judges than yours (ok, I'm guessing it was different), you still cling to this. And you think you're being smart.

It should be self-evident that he's not a pure athlete out there, but rather a smart linebacker.

Nice use of the word pure, it gives you a little wiggle room I guess.

Admit it, he's a hell of an athlete and was a hell of a good pick.

[Vagrant]

You're hopeless, really. You're not supplying anything other than your own counter opinion which is fine as you're totally entitled to that, but that doesn't mean you're not wrong. College stats mean nothing. The all time leading passer in NCAA history is out trying to earn a living in the CHL and you're trying to bring me stats in college to prove that a player is so wicked awesome? Please.

And if you're paying attention, i'm not only going by the voice of some panel i'm telling you what i've seen from him in action. My own opinion. Just like you are bringing your own opinion to counter mine. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is not a quantifiable measure. This is a pure talent evaluation and trying to bring corroboration to points that you have gleaned by watching a player is impossible to do.

He's not a hell of a good athlete, but he's a hell of a football player. He has a mind for the game and that is more than half the battle. I would take Connor with Connor's agility shortcomings and athletic concerns over Dan Morgan's athleticism with Chris Henry's mind. All day every day.

[Brandon]

Joe Pa runs an NFL style defense, against tough competition, so numbers coming out of his linebackers are generally very solid. Plus, your argument is entirely based on the fact that he's not a good athlete, but his numbers are even better than the best LB currently on our team...

[Vagrant]

Joe Pa runs an NFL style defense, against tough competition, so numbers coming out of his linebackers are generally very solid. Plus, your argument is entirely based on the fact that he's not a good athlete, but his numbers are even better than the best LB currently on our team...

I realize that Penn State has a storied tradition for linebackers and that is not a dismissal of what Connor did at Penn State. It seems that far too many people are looking at my comments like i'm saying that Dan Connor is not an excellent football player, because he is an excellent football player. It's just that by conventional standards of athleticism for your average NFL linebacker, he does not meet those standards. That is the reason he slipped in the draft, because he was viewed as a risk to bust because he didn't have the pure athleticism to make the transition look easy. What the scouts didn't count on that Carolina did was that Connor is a tremendous football thinker. He has natural instincts that cannot be learned.

Additionally, preseason numbers should also be taken with a grain of salt. There have been guys that have put up tremendous numbers here that have still been cut. Taye Biddle is one and Lehman could potentially be another this year unless a few things change.

I have been encouraged by his play this preseason as much as anybody, but that does not make him an above average athlete all of a sudden. In his position he has proven you may not have to be.... and good for him.

[The Link]

You're hopeless, really. You're not supplying anything other than your own counter opinion which is fine as you're totally entitled to that, but that doesn't mean you're not wrong. College stats mean nothing. The all time leading passer in NCAA history is out trying to earn a living in the CHL and you're trying to bring me stats in college to prove that a player is so wicked awesome? Please.

And if you're paying attention, i'm not only going by the voice of some panel i'm telling you what i've seen from him in action. My own opinion. Just like you are bringing your own opinion to counter mine. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is not a quantifiable measure. This is a pure talent evaluation and trying to bring corroboration to points that you have gleaned by watching a player is impossible to do.

He's not a hell of a good athlete, but he's a hell of a football player. He has a mind for the game and that is more than half the battle. I would take Connor with Connor's agility shortcomings and athletic concerns over Dan Morgan's athleticism with Chris Henry's mind. All day every day.

Hopeless...